Various devices have been suggested for physical rehabilitation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,822,039 discloses a single foot platform having a pivot member on the underside thereof located between the heel and toe of a single foot of the user. The '039 patent provides for a tipping movement from the heel to the toe. While satisfactory for its intended purpose the device shown in the '039 patent does not provide for a closed kinetic chain exercise that will rehabilitate oppositely located lower extremity joints.
Exercising devices are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,253,996 to Bechman, U.S. Pat. No. 3,416,792 to Morgan et al and U.S. Pat. No. 4,505,477 to Wilkinson all of which are representative of balancing exercisers having a platform and a center mounted pivot member. In the '996 and the '792 patents the platform is a narrow member (fore to aft) that has outwardly located platform surfaces for a user's feet that require a wide separation of the users feet. The platform surfaces do not provide for positioning of a user's feet on opposite sides of a pivot point at a variety of side-to-side and fore and aft positions. Accordingly, the feet of a user cannot be positioned to produce an optimum closed kinetic chain exercise of different pairs of joints for patients having wide variety of heights and weights. The '477 patent requires a complex spring and wheel system to produce side to side rolling and tilting movement. It discloses only two foot pads that are limited in area and spaced a substantial distance from the center of the platform.
None of the aforesaid devices provide an exerciser upon which a patient's can be positioned in a variety of side to side and front to rear positions on a support platform and wherein the support platform can be connected to a pivot plate of varying height to vary the kinetic motion required for a particular joint rehabilitation.